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Unexpected Betrayal? SENSHI's Conflict!
Moment of Shattering Richard trod his feet on the main pathway of Sole City. As it would normally be, the city was exuberant and alight with the markets and people running about as they normally were. Richard had been in a rather grim mood, he wasn't smiling nor even walking at his casual pace. He was carrying his katana on himself, and looked into the sky with his saddened golden eyes. A brief few moments passed, and Richard snapped out of his depressive state. He realized what his mission was, and he had to act accordingly. Continuing to move, Richard headed towards the Sole City Forest, where he had begun resting in a small treehouse situated there, he began to look at his watch and its ticks and tocks, slowly and steadily... Richard had planned out this entire event accordingly. Already he had created an intricate crime scene that involved a chain of murders of soldiers of the Fiore Royal Military, nobody major of course, just a few small soldiers here and there. These murders each would have very little, rather stupid pieces of evidence such as a letter, a small thread and maybe even the sheath of a blade, but nothing else. He planned that everything would lead up to the core of Sole City, where another, final murder would take place, of course with assistance from Yotsuki. This would make the team split into two areas, one near the Academy, and the other being over here...Richard just hoped the right members reached where he envisioned them, if not, then this could have been disastrous! The breeze blew Azuki's deep blue hair to the side and partly into her face. Drake tried hard not to laugh, but anyone could easily fail to do so. She shot him a stern glare. Drake quickly whipped around and continued to walk down the cobblestone path before them. They were near the east wing of the Academy grounds. One of the supposed murders had occurred near this area. "I'm surprised they're still holding training sessions with this string of murders. A little odd, don't you think?" Drake asked, peering over his shoulder towards Azuki. She shrugged at the question. "At first, that seems like a plausible question. Well, actually, it is. But keep in mind that there's always been a doctrine of self-defense here. If you can't protect yourself, then you don't belong here. That's why the Academy's doesn't have such heavy security, " Azuki said with her hand on her hip. Drake couldn't find it in himself to disagree, she was right more or less. Still, he couldn't shake the ominous feeling he had. Azuki suddenly set her hand on his shoulder, catching Drake by surprise. "Something on your mind?" She asked softly. "Nothing in particular, just an off feeling, " Drake remarked. He flashed her a smile of assurance, they needed to stay on track. No use derailing with off-hand speculation. "Let's just circle the entire grounds of the Academy. If there's any evidence, the outer rim of the property is our best bet. Whoever this guy is, he wasn't too smart taking people out on the grounds of a military facility, tch, " Drake said. Azuki nodded in agreement, they had finally gotten a real plan of action ironed out. Azuki followed closely behind him. She still had a feeling her boyfriend's bad feeling could come to bit them in the butt soon. Azuki shook her head, it was best to just stick with proper logic in this and not lean on emotions. Elbert and Jin however, were on the other site of the murder. This man was quite foolish, either that or exceedingly clever and bold at the same time. He attacked the headquarters of military operations! Jin and Elbert found trails of corpses, soldiers who had been killed by this...person or people. Jin was disgusted, but held his emotions inside." Elbert, let's go and find some clues." Elbert followed along accordingly, unlike most of his tenures, Elbert was actually disgusted and distraught by this happening. He scanned around; looking for clues diligently, while pondering," Where's Richard?" Jin answered his question quietly," He's on another, independent mission. I don't know the details, but it seems to concern a number of thefts near the Royal Palace, if I'm not wrong." Jin continued on searching, attempting to find some clue that would lead to the next destination they had to head to. ---- Running off the information given to them by Headquarters, Drake and Azuki found themselves at the final murder location on the campus of the Academy. Of the recent string of murders, there were three on-campus. It was unsettling, to say the least. The final scene was a maintenance shack near the edge of the Academy grounds. It was originally used for storage for the landscaping crew but was abandoned. It wasn't in bad shape, however, it wasn't in good shape either. Soon as Azuki and Drake stepped into the confined space, they observed that the shack was mostly empty save for a handful of newly packaged tools scattered on the small work table in the corner.(courtesy of a forensics team that didn't find what they wanted and didn't care to discard it all properly) The single window was blown out, clearly the work of this mysterious murderer. There was some yellow tape around due to the forensics team. Azuki found herself wondering what they were even looking for. The forensics team had taken whatever evidence they could find. She continued to look around the room aimlessly. "Drake, " Azuki said, stopping herself for a moment, "who headed the forensics team for this location?" He looked over at Azuki curiously. "I actually have no idea, " Drake replied, shrugging. "This has been a pointless day. Everywhere we've gone has already been check and the evidence found was just enough to make this a seemingly worthwhile case for us to intervene, " Azuki moaned, crossing her arms across her chest. "Well, that and the fact that the victims are soldiers." She gave Drake a questionable look. Strangely enough, she was the first one complaining and not him. Drake wasn't a "whiny" person, but his tolerance for irritable tasks were lower then anyone. "You're right, it's been a waste, " Drake said plainly. If anything, he almost felt like an idiot for keeping up with this all. He scratched his head, Drake was curious as to how Elbert, Jin, and Megan were handling this waste of time. As if the Devils themselves had appeared, Megan, Jin and Elbert were right on cue. Elbert shrugged his shoulders, as if answering Drake's question, before Megan intervened in a more serious tone." We couldn't find anything of actual value Drake, sorry about that. Though I do believe this is one big waste of time, even though it is -" Cut off by Jin's hand, Megan was about to go off at Jin before he spoke." I do believe we should look at all the evidence once again, though Richard may not be here, it doesn't mean we're useless without him. We have some bright minds here, let's put them to use, no?" Azuki admired Jin's resolve, clapped her hands, whistled uncharacteristically and told him." Alright! Let's do this! Everyone in?" ---- When your team's investigation yields no results, it's best to be honest with one self and try another approach. Thankfully, Drake didn't see himself as above such a principle. With that in mind, the team headed back to the forensics lab to go over the data reports on the evidence gathered by the forensics team. It was SENSHI's job to make sure they hadn't missed anything at the crime scenes, however, they really didn't miss a thing, at all. Azuki slowly tied her hair into a high ponytail as she eyed the case file in front of here. Scattered across the table were a few files with the department's forensic analysis and what not. The others were all seated around the lab table. "Not alot here either, " Azuki moaned. The forensics crew's main finding were finger prints that lead to no answers. Originally, it was theorized that the killer may be a former soldier, yet, they couldn't find a match for anything much less any soldier that ever served the Kingdom of Fiore. All the energy was once again sapped from the lot of them. Megan rested her cheek on her palm as she fingered through a few papers that said nothing at all at the end of the day, at least, nothing that helped their effort. Where was this headed? That was the thought on all their minds. Azuki smirked as even Jin was showing his disappointment with how things were going. A small smile crossed Elbert's face as he shifted in his stool. "You know, this is one of those moments that help us apprecia--" "Hush up!" Everyone groaned in unison. Elbert sighed in submission, he was outnumbered here. "No need for your spiffy outlook at the moment, man, " Azuki said harshly. With the investigation seemingly dying out, her other worries were surfacing again, which would be Drake. She looked on as he silently ran through a report on the locations of the murder scenes. Drake bit his lip as his eyes swayed side to side running over word after word. While the finger prints lead nowhere, there was something else to be brought into consideration. " Jin, is there a map of Sole City in this room or near it? " Drake asked, standing up slowly from his seat. Jin's expression went blank for a moment. "Should be in that cabinet in the front. There's maps of all the major cities of Fiore there. At least, last time I was here, " He said calmly. Azuki arched an eyebrow in question, "What are you up to?" "Give me a moment." Everyone stared in a confused daze while Drake pulled out a map of Sole and began to write something on it with a pen. As Megan looked closer, she noticed he was in fact circling locations on the inner most part of the map. After the seventh time, he set down the pen and pushed the map towards the center of the table. The others exchanged still confused looks with one another before setting their attention on Drake. He pointed at the center of the paper, "Aside from the two locations near the Academy, the rest of murders took place in the city. Not the outskirts but inside. Furthermore, look, all the locations form around Sole Central, " Drake said, circling his finger around. "My brother once told me one of the most important skills anyone can have, rookie or seasoned, is to the see the patterns and relationships among the evidence if the time should ever come. " Jin scratched his head. "The ability to perceive patterns? True, more or less, " He remarked to himself. "So, by that, Sole Central could actually lead us to some answers? Makes sense. " Megan said, shaking her head in agreement. Drake smirked, " It's not ever yet, people. Let's head to Sole Central. " ---- The group had been in Sole Central, and had scanned for any mysteries. Richard hadn't been with them, but they were still able to function very well as a team; after all, they had been with one another for approximately two years. "Okay, here we are...but I can't see anything." Elbert groaned as he kept his head low. Jin gave him a slight whack on the head, causing him to jump up in pain." Ow! What was that for?" Jin simply turned around with a smug look on his face, and responded, "Well you're the idiot here, keep calm and don't talk about such a serious topic in the midst of a fair." "Tch, fine then." Elbert grunted; while Drake, Azuki and Megan simply stared at the two. Megan was finding it hard to believe that the normally silent Jin would act so ruthlessly, and asked Azuki, "Is this normal?" "Well...you can say that." Azuki responded half-heartedly. She looked upon the horizons, and saw that the preparations were in full swing." Well, this is nice to see, ain't it?" " I agree...Richard would've been happy to see all of this as well. Oh! It seems something is starting, a performance?" Drake and the others looked upon the stage, hoping for something delightful. Suddenly, the whole crowd around them went silent in anticipation. Flashes of fire caught their eyes as everyone's attention was glued onto the stage. A few or so performers stepped onto the stage, juggling torches. They were dressed in festive clothing usually not seen in Fiore. People began to cheer as they tossed the flaming sticks in the air fearlessly. "That is impressive, " Azuki muttered, her eyes following the torches as they seemingly floated in the air. The performers began to juggle them with one another. Passing each torch one after another. "Ooh's" and "Aah's" could be heard all around them. Elbert smirked, "I could do that." "And I can breathe underwater, " Jin said slyly, keeping his eyes on the performance. Azuki stifled a laugh. "Ouch, he got you good, Elbert, " Drake said, smiling. "Anyway, let's just enjoy this." "Yea, yea, " Elbert replied with a nod. At that moment, two of the performers began to flip around the stage as their companions kicked up the juggling speed a bit. The crowd was captivated without a doubt. All of SENSHI felt much more relaxed. Being too tense on the job could only turn out bad. It was a fair after all, why not relax a little? "Frankly, Richard would have liked this performance. But ah well, we can have fun without him, can't we, Megan?" Azuki directed the question at her intentionally, hoping for a response. "Oi!" Megan retorted with a slightly blushed face. Everyone in the group was laughing, while retaining their concentration on the performance. Suddenly; an explosion! Flames began to race throughout the entire stage, and the performers were left being about to burn! SENSHI looked on for a moment and acted immediately. Drake immediately went onto the stage, and quenched the flames with a powerful Ice Magic spell, before the others headed off and attempted to retain sanity among the crowd. Three cloaked figures came onto the scene. One appeared to have distinct blond hair and a pair of fiery red wings, the other had a bloody knife in his hands with raven-black hair, and the other...had a strangely familiar look. Short black hair, dark eyes and a lean figure. It reminded the team strangely of Richard. But they couldn't be distracted, and had quickly been on the offensive. The two accompanying figures seemingly rushed off into the distance with three of the performers as captives, while the other stayed behind and looked onto the entire crowd. In a matter of moments, a large creature of darkness had appeared from behind the stage. It was a creature reminiscent of a lion, and had appeared to be half of the man's size. It raced across the stage and took some of the crowd captive within its dark and heinous grasp. "So...what shall you do?" The man asked SENSHI, seemingly interested with their response. Drake narrowed his eyes at the escaping pair. There were now hostages, this had gone from bad to worse in no time. He looked over to the othes. "Azuki and I will pursue those two and save the hostages, " Drake said, leaping off the stage and landing firmly before them. He gave a nod to Elbert. "This is a delicate situation, proceed with caution, guys, " Azuki said, beginning to step towards Drake. She glanced over to the lone figure on stage and then at the beast to his side. "Be wary of that, man. " Jin nodded, "Of course, but you guys need to get going." He quickly drew his sword and set his eyes on Sole's newest guest. "It's unheard of for dark mages to try anything funny in this city, you must be quite brave." "Megan!" Drake shouted, as he and Azuki began to break into a run. She looked over to them. "By any means necessary, take that guy and thing down. That's an order!" Drake shouted. He and Azuki suddenly vanished as they sped off into the distance. She smiled, she was starting to really feel apart of the team. Megan shot a volley of energy-enhanced bullets almost immediately after the duo raced off. A dozen had been aimed at the dark monster, and the other at the dark-haired man who had stood calmly in the face of this adversity. Jin and Elbert both drew their weapons. Jin had already leapt above the man, hoping to get in a powerful overhead slash at his shoulder, whilst Elbert with his gauntlets had attempted to hit his gut with a powerful jab. With three attacks from powerful mages upon him, what would this man do? All he did was smirk and a powerful wave of darkness emanated from his being. It surrounded his body briefly and provided him with an impenetrable defense, leaving Megan's, Elbert's and even Jin's attacks bounce off of him. Destruction was rampant here, and the man seemed to enjoy it. With a wave of his hand, the beast began to leave trails of dark flames from its large strides. It began to cause the town citizens to flee, and the entire stage had erupted with the power of its flames. It took Megan by surprise, and nearly took off her entire arm if it weren't for the timely intervention of Elbert's Elbow technique that immediately propelled it to the other side of the stage. All three were struggling. Not even Drake and Richard together could have possibly overwhelmed them to this extent, yet how was it that they were being beaten so easily? But they had no time to think; the man had formed a small orb of darkness within his hand. He fired it by clenching his fist, causing a small wave of darkness to pulsate outwards as its tremendous range encompassed nearly half of the area that they were enclosed in! Jin immediately formulated a strategy to deal with the incoming blast. He chanted, "Direct Unforked Road." Immediately his blade's hilt had rotated, and in a single step he drew it with amazing force. The strength, speed and precision of the slash cut the blast in half, causing an explosion to occur within Jin's vicinity. Before he was hurt however, Elbert cried, "Earthen Sanctuary!" A large dome of earth had been erected from the ground beneath Jin. Almost instantly, layers upon layers of earth had been formed, causing the entire explosion to be negated. From here, Megan leapt into the sky and immediately requipped her blade. She then chanted, "Golden Rule!" Immediately golden energy enveloped her blade, to the point where it was emanating and wanting to be released. At the exact moment she was within 5 metres of him; she fired! An extremely powerful wave of golden energy was nearing him second-by-second, but the man was a step ahead of all three of them. The being who was standing there was nothing but a clone of darkness. And he was standing on the tallest pagoda that was around the area. He unveiled his hood ever-so-slightly... "Is that...Richard?" Jin and Elbert said in unison. But before they could confirm it, they had both been knocked out by a powerful mental blast. The man let the wind blow out his hoodie, and there he was...standing on top of the pagoda, the man they had trusted the most with SENSHI's operations...Richard Buchanan. "Richard! What are you doing!? Why!?" Megan shouted, as tears swelled up within her eyes. Why was she crying? She had no attachment to Richard...did she? "You mistake me...for someone else." Was all he said in response. The beast of darkness had already caused her to collapse under a powerful blow to the abdomen. But before she did so, she reached her hand out, attempting to console him again. But there was no effect, none at all. He stood impassive among the chaos, and had simply waited for the reunion of himself, Drake and Azuki. ---- Azuki twirled her pike to her back as she stepped towards the three hostages. The duo they were pursuing had dropped the hostages and seemingly retreated. However, it was not without cost. Drake had nailed one of them in the leg with an ice arrow. All that mattered was that the performers were safe, terrified, but safe. "What if they come back? " A female performer said as Azuki helped her to her feet. She was shivering in fear even now. It was alot to take in for them. "They won't be, " Drake said sternly, earning a questionable look from the other performers still seated on the ground. "I can't think of any dark mage that would try to cause any real trouble in Sole, no, this city and it's citizens are not apart of their goal. I just know if that makes sense." Azuki nodded, "Indeed, we've got things under control." Drake still felt something odd. Ever since the appearance of that man on the stage, he has had an off feeling. As if he was missing something important. His magical presence was ominous, but familiar. He walked over to the two males performers and helped them up. "There's a medical clinic a few blocks from here, go there, " Drake said, laying a hand on their shoulders. "You have no real injuries, but check anyway. Also, more important, if you see any policemen. Tell them to keep citizens from coming in this direction. Tell them a military captain told you so. " The two men nodded and ushered their female companion down the street and out of sight. "Should we track those two down?" Azuki said, her weapon disappearing. "No, we're going back to support the others, " Drake said sternly, turning to the direction of the now ruined fair. "Let's get a move on, Azuki." They nodded at one another and bulleted down the street. Time was of the essence. Drake couldn't shake this gut feeling. "By the way, any idea what that flash of light was earlier? It was almost golden, " Azuki asked, running in step with Drake. They whisked past empty food stands and shops. Clearly, the people had gotten the message and high-tailed it out of there. She was sure news of this had already reached the HQ and the Mayor. Drake narrowed his eyes. As the stage area came into sight, the trail of destruction did as well. "Bets are that was Megan, " He said quickly, "They need help." "Drake, stop!" Both Azuki and Drake came to a halt. He glanced over to her in confusion. "What the hell?" He asked. She pointed upwards in response. He followed it to find himself staring at a pagoda not too far from the stage. There stood a lone figure. Purple hair blew with the soft breeze. Drake felt his heart almost drop. It was surreal, as if time had stopped upon his sudden realization. Empty brown eyes met his own in that moment. The clothes were the same, but now the face was revealed, there could be no mistake—though he prayed it was. "This can't be happening, Richard?" Departure "What did you just say? Richard...Buchanan? That was but a shell...I am a Raven, I am the Raven. I belong not in this pretentious excuse of Justice, but I belong in the darkness, where I shall be accepted." He looked down upon them with brown eyes...that reflected no emotion. Physically this was Richard Buchanan, but what had compelled him to change so much? Was it greed? Was it lust? Was it pride? It couldn't have been any of these, for Richard had no interest in them. So what was it? "Richard, you bastard! What are you doing!?" Azuki blurted out, her halberd requipped, she wasn't afraid of confronting the man before her if needed. "Didn't you once say that I was your equal? In that case, I will take you down, here and now!" Azuki declared, and she leaped off the ground and attempted to strike Richard with a number of lunges from her halberd. But they were all useless. A phantom's hand appeared from behind the man; clutching the halberd and throwing Azuki behind to the wall on his left. Azuki quickly kept her grip and immediately retaliated with a number of energy blasts that attempted to scorch Richard with their potency. But he knew she was holding back, and effortlessly conjured a powerful shield of darkness to repel the blasts. "Your attacks are as fake as the light you live in..." He commented on her barbaric tactics and weak attacks; continuing, "Do you really think that you can stand as my foe, like this?" "Azuki, don't attack, " Drake said slowly. "What?" Azuki barked, shooting a glare down towards. "You can't be serious. This is whole block is wrecked, I can't let his nonsense stand." "Enough, " Drake muttered through an annoyed look. Azuki whipped her halberd around her, "Hell no. We have a job to do. Doesn't matter if he's a comrade or not!" "Fucking hell, stop!" The ground suddenly rumbled, the pavement cracking simutaneously as a reddish aura creeped around Drake's body. A cold sweat ran down the side of Azuki's face, her anger subsided. She had never seen him so angry, so enraged. Three years ago, Yotsuki had mentioned that Drake took after his father. His father's bad temper in tense situations was famous among the army and it looked like the apple really didn't fall far from the tree. Drake's wrath was close to being unleashed. Yet, what was stopping him? She look to Richard, or Raven as he called himself, his eyes seemed unfazed. Though, it went without saying that he would know Drake's strength and temper better than any of them. Azuki couldn't deny that she hoped they wouldn't fight, not those two. "Azuki, " Drake said, struggling to keep his composure, " Richard knows your every spell and pretty much everything about your skills. Attacking carelessly is stupid against a tactician such as him. There's a reason I hold him in such high regard as a fighter." "Again, I am Raven, old friends, " Richard said, cutting in. "Richard Buchanan is no more." "Whatever, " Drake replied, rolling his eyes. " Now, you know my bad temper better than anyone. So, you know how much I'm holding back right now. This all begs the question: what the hell are you up to?" "What am I up to?" Raven asked quietly as he looked up in the air. "I want this dome of light that you all live in to be shattered. I want you to understand that all of this is fake. All of this, is the perception that has been given to you." "But you forget that it was given to you as well!" Drake's anger was nearing its limit, but he knew he couldn't fight him...not here...not now. There would be too much destruction, and everything would be blamed upon him. "So, why are you here right now?" Drake asked one more question, truly curious at his current motive. "I was here to merely tell you all that I have left you for a better future. A future where the truth is within our grasps." Raven looked at Drake in the eye again, and at the corner of it he heard Azuki say. "Tell us? Tell us something like this? By nearly killing your friends!?" "Friends? You have gotten me wrong. The lot of you were my playthings...my stepping stones to reach the depths of darkness...the depths of the truth." He responded apathetically, staring at his former "comrades" rising from their brief slumber. "You're awake, are you?" He asked the trio. They were heavily injured, bleeding and bruised, Megan especially considering the hit she took. They were in shock...and were left almost speechless thanks to Richard's actions. Jin raised himself up, cringing at the pain, and steadied himself. His vision was hazy and his breathing was shaky. They had been careless. Azuki had told him to be wary, and now this. His eyes carried over to Drake who was standing not too far from him. He noticed Azuki on the roof some yards away from Richard. "Drake!, " Jin shouted, clutching his wounded arm. "Richard has...he's..." "Betrayed us, I can tell, smartass, " Drake said, not bothering to glance over to his comrade. "Stop moving, it will only make your wounds worse." Azuki watched as Elbert supported Megan. She should of stayed back. Had she, they wouldn't have gotten hurt like this. Azuki bit her lip, such carelessness. "Elbert, is she alright?" She asked. He gave her a strong nod in response. Jin had always had a weak body compared to the rest of the team and Megan wasn't as experienced with taking serious damaged as them. However, Elbert was a bull if anything. Richard directed an empty look towards the blonde young woman. She looked to be in a daze. Azuki narrowed her eyes at Richard. "Asshole, that doesn't even begin to describe you, " Azuki spat through a venomous look. Megan's heart had been stomped on, their trust had been shattered, and friendships had collapsed in the worst way possible. "Your opinion isn't of any importance to me, " Raven said calmly, turning to Azuki. "You can say that a thousand times over and it will still not matter, Azuki Isshi." "Stepping stones, play things, dome of light, I never took you as one for such a pretentious manner of speaking, " Drake said, stepping forward. He could feel his fuse ready to burst. However, he couldn't. Not in a place like this. "Is Raven always such a smart alec?" "Call it what you want, " Raven said sternly. Not even a grimace could be seen. His expression show nothing, spoke nothing, and felt nothing. "I think it's obvious we can't fight here, " Drake said, glaring. "I can't allow that sort of destruction and you can't afford to hang around much longer. It's not as if the HQ isn't close to here. Your move, bastard." Drake's last comment held a certain disgust to it, so much so, that it was clear to the rest of SENSHI just how pissed he was. "You make a worthy proposition this time. I shall leave. I have no business here, for this was merely a warning. Next time we meet...be prepared." Richard drowned into the surrounding shadows with no hint of his existence being left within the world. "Richard!" Megan cried, but she was held back by Elbert. They understood that Megan had an unusual bond with Richard, and didn't comment here. "What are we going to do, Drake?" Jin asked, st ill baffled by the current situation. "We have to leave. For now, the military forces can handle the present situation." Drake retorted, and began to leave for the headquarters, with the others following...solemnly along. ---- The infirmary was never known to be a happy place, however, compared to today, one could of claimed such a thing. Elbert, Jin, and Megan had been checked in so their wounds could be tended to. The injuries were serious and that meant all three were resigned to Bed-rest till tomorrow—or so the chief medic had ordered. Megan had asked to be left alone and refused to see anyone unless it was totally necessary. The nurses had wanted to call up a therapist but they were quickly stopped by Azuki and told the girl just needed some time alone. Yotsuki hadn't shown up nor Oros. All they could do was wait. Elbert had fallen asleep and Jin as well, or at least they guessed had. Drake found himself sitting outside near the doors of their rooms. There was a cushioned bench for visitors against the wall. It surely beat sitting in the waiting room. Azuki was right next to him, holding his hand. It had been a tough day. On the inside, she wanted to comfort him and talk about the reality of Richard's betrayal, but she felt the time wasn't right. Richard's betrayal meant more than just the loss of great friend and comrade. Outside of their group, the military had just lost one of its' most talented rising soldiers and most promising young strategist. She could only imagine how the Council would handle this, learning of such a potentially dangerous defector was now on the loose. Most of all: had Richard surpassed her in strength? No, she just couldn't fight properly against a friend. Yet, the thought pervaded her. "You know, " Drake said softly, breaking the silence. " When I first met Richard, his made it clear he didn't crap about what my last name was or what my family has done. At that moment, I know he was a guy of integrity." "Drake, I know this is harder on you than the rest of us bar Megan, " Azuki replied, tightening her grip on his hand, " But we have to face that Richard is now a dangerous element." She didn't want to say it, but she had to. "I find myself in denial of it," Drake muttered, closing his eyes. He just wanted to rest and take this all in. How could Richard Buchanan betray the military, betray the kingdom, and most of all betray his friends?" She sighed, " Denial does no one any good." "No doubt about that, " Drake said. He glanced over at Azuki, " I have no intentions of having mercy on him if we face one another. I just wonder what turned him. That nonsense about the Richard we knew all being a facade didn't convince me. But, those eyes......" Azuki rested her head on his shoulder. "Let's just relax. Getting too worked up will only make things worse, " She said softly. "While the comparison isn't too fair, my father handled a defector once. My brother was barely one at the time, " Drake said sternly, memories of old tales on the subject began to run through his mind. "He didn't hesitate to kill that man. My dad put his life on the line. Azuki arched an eyebrow, " What are you getting at, babe?" "Even if we don't meet Richard again anytime soon, I won't tolerate barbarism from someone that once fought for Fiore, " He replied, sighing. "If he goes about fanning the flames of chaos, I will hunt him down and I will kill him. Even if it means that I may...." "Don't you dare speak like that." Drake looked back at Azuki through somber eyes. Her face had gone from sad to angry. His words had struck a chord. "You're not dying anytime soon. Don't start that "I will give me life for this cause" bullshit. Drake Vista doesn't talk like that and neither did your father at that time. He went in with a winning mindset against that devil of a man, " Azuki said, sitting up. Now she was angry. "I'm fine with you feeling that sense of duty but none of that depressing nonsense. You're better than that." A small smile crossed Drake's face at her words. His mother had been right about this blue haired girl. "Yes, " He said quickly, " I won't forget that." "Well that's nice to see!" Elbert came waltzing in, proud as usual. Jin stood next to him; though shorter, he was as confident as Elbert was. "We might have lost one. But we won't shatter so easily." Jin reinforced Elbert's point with a slight smile. And then came in Megan from behind. She wore a bandage over her right arm. Her torso and chest had bandages around it, and all she wore was a dark overcoat to cover herself, along with a pair of rather loose tracks and a pair of slip-ons as footwear. As she entered, she said, "I'm...sorry." "What for?" Azuki responded, almost immediately after she apologized. "What do you mean 'what for'!? It was my fault that Richard was able to escape so easily! If I was stronger, I -" "Oh, shut it!" Azuki got up and gave Megan a small slap in the face. "Honestly, all you ever do is either: annoy people by bragging, or by taking all the blame for yourself. Stop doing that! You're in a team now. Yes, we might have disliked you before, but that's changed. We are, and always will be a team. So stop it with the whole melodrama, and please, stop trying to hide your feelings for Richard." Megan flustered, "B-but how?" She stopped, and then remembered, "Oh..." "Yeah, got it, right? Good, now come along, Drake needs some privacy. Isn't that right, sweetheart?" "Thanks Azuki..." Drake waved the rest of the team off, and looked outside his window. Category:Zicoihno Category:Tales of a New Generation